Sunday, October 11, 2015

BUDAPEST CONFERENCE,ILGCN ARCO NORDICA 2015 AWARDS PRESENTED

Umeå, Åland, Stockholm, Budapest — The 2nd stage of the 2015 ILGCN World Rainbow Culture Conference will take place in Budapest October 16-18 (following the 1st stage in Stockholm May 4-6.) See Budapest press releases — and the new ILGCN Face Book — for details and latest information.

Meanwhile, two of the 3 winners of the ILGCN "Rasmus Rasmussen" Arco Nordica award for outstanding and pioneering work in the Nordic region have received their diplomas in person at their events — Finland's Åland Pride in Mariahamn in June and Umeå Pride/Queer Förvaltningen in that northern Swedish city in September.

The awards honor the outstanding contributions to LGBT culture at their events and to international solidarity with rainbow colleagues in other countries and among the immigrant and refugee communities.

The third winner sharing the 2015 award is Mozaika, the Latvian LGBT organization which arranged the pioneering EuroPride/Baltic Pride in June, 2015 — the first time EuroPride took place in former Soviet territory. This award diploma is to be handed out in the spring of next year when be handed out when Mozaik celebrates its 20th birthday.

The award is named after the late, pioneering Faroes journalist/musician who outraged violent homophobes in Torshavn by being one of the first LGBT persons to come out publicly — facing brutal physical attacks and severe homophobic persecution driving him to take his own life.

NEW ILGCN Apointees

New ILGCN ambassadors and co-ordinators taking over after years of service from some of the old timers — who of course retain their titles of "ambassadors" just like the diplomatic world — and some coming from new countries are:

Francoise Message, film maker, ILGCN cultural ambassador for France

Bitte Andersson, film maker and cartoonist, cultural ambassador for Sweden

Popo Fan, film maker and film festival organizer, cultural ambassador for China